believing soul. That the love of God in Christ Jesus is revealed to every true believer, is a truth which shines in every part of the holy Gospel. He experiences the constraining power of the love of God in his own mind; and therefore, as the Apostle speaks, "We love him, because he first loved us." The consideration of his love towards us, sweetly and powerfully constrains us to love him in return, and to express our love to him by our cheerful obedience: But" the love of God is also shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us," or as the Apostle Peter expresses it, the divine nature is communicated to us. Now this love of God, or the divine nature, is considered by St. Paul as the very root, or the life and soul of all true religion; and he clearly shews, that let a man know, believe, do, or suffer whatsoever he is capable of, yet if he is destitute of this love of God, he is nothing, he is lighter than vanity. The reason of this is evident, nothing under heaven, besides this one thing, can be a sufficient antidote against the poison of the old serpent, the carnal mind, or that original depravity which we brought into the world with us. All the holy resolutions, all the pious purposes, and all the solemn vows that a man may lay himself under, will signify nothing at all, as the enmity of the carnal mind will break through them all, and he will be constrained to say, "When I would do good, evil is present with me." But divine love is strong as death, and will, if rightly exercised, be more than conqueror. As love is said to be strong as death, so that it will enable us to encounter and overcome our last and most formidable enemy; may we not also conclude, it will enable us also to conquer all those enemies of our peace and happiness, which may withstand us in our way to the holy city of God, to which we are travelling? Is not this the design of God, in communicating it to us, that it should purify the heart, should spiritualize the soul, and bring us into a state of conformity to the holy will of God, our Saviour? And we shall find, by happy experience, it is quite sufficient for this blessed purpose; for it is powerful in its operation, and the carnal mind can no more stand before it, than dagon could stand before the ark of God. When we believe in the Son of God, then it is that the love of God is shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us; and the natural consequence of this is, a chearful and hearty compliance with the will of God. Our stubborn, crooked, and perverse will is conquered, and "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" is the language of our beart. This love of God conquers at once all the perverseness of the carnal mind, and destroys all its enmity. against God and religion, and makes us the willing and obedient servants of a gracious Master. It will do more for us in one moment, than we could have done for ourselves in ten thousand ages, had we lived so long, and laboured with all our might. It is not, therefore, without the highest reason, that the Poet hath taught us to sing in the following man ner, "Knowledge, alas! is all in vain, "Our stubborn sins will fight and reign, And is it not so? Will all the knowledge we can acquire purify our heart? Will this conquer our will, and make us holy and happy? Are our wise and learned men the most spiritual and heavenly minded? Are they of all others, the most meek and lowly in heart? Or are they not the very reverse of this? Are they not, in general, proud and passionate, self-sufficient, and self-willed? Are they not at the greatest distance from God and true religion? Nay, so far is knowledge from purifying the heart, that even among reli. gious people, those who are the highest in speculative knowledge in the word of God, are not in general the most deeply pious; but just the contrary. So true it is, "Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth:" And accordingly, it is too evident to be denied, that many among the simple-hearted followers of God, who are far from abounding in knowledge, outstrip in solid piety many of those who have much more knowledge than they. And as our knowledge will not, cannot conquer our in ward enemies, neither can our fear do it; but our subborn selfwill, our stubborn evil tempers, desires and passions, will not only fight, but they will reign also, if love be absent there. But he who experiences the love of God in his heart will find, that the same thing may be said of it, which is said of the wisdom which is from above; it is pure, peaceable, and easy to be intreated. Let the understanding only discover what the will of God concerning us is, and our will (under the influence of the love of God) will immediately embrace it. And if, at any time, our will rise up in oppos tion to the divine will, let a fresh supply of the love of God be communicated, and we fall down at the feet of our Mas ter at once, with "Lord, not mine, but thy will be done;" and we only want to experience an higher degree of this love of God, and we shall be enabled at all times to say, from the ground of our heart, "Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." And as it has this blessed effect upon the mind, with respect to God; so likewise with respect to man. Did the love of God always rule in our hearts, we should then live. in love and peace one with another. How easy to be in-. treated would it make us, so that chearfully submitting one to another, we should sweetly unite in promoting each other's peace and happiness. This love of God will conquer all our evil tempers, all our anger and peevishness, our pride, impatience, and fretfulness. These bad tempers are enemies of our peace and happiness; they spring from the same evil root with our self-will, and are hateful in the sight of God: But as the love of God is intended to restore his image in the soul, it has a natural tendency to root up those plants which an enemy hath planted. Accordingly we learn, that the fruit of the Spirit is not only love, joy, and peace; but also long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, temperance; and we find, by blessed experience, that it has this happy effect upon the mind. It fills us with eve- › ry holy and heavenly temper, both with respect to God and man. And if, at any time, our friends have acted improperly towards us, and have given us real cause of offence, and a distance and coldness of affection hath taken place; let a fresh supply of divine love be imparted, and how easy do we find it to forgive all that is past, and embrace them again in the arms of brotherly affection? In a word, this holy, this heavenly principle implanted in the mind, destroys evil tempers, and conquers every unruly passion, regulates every desire, spiritualizes every affection, and turns our whole soul from earth to heaven; so that we may say, with the Apostle, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not 1, but Christ liveth in me; and the life that I now live in the body, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." This love of God will also enable us to overcome all our outward enemies, and to bear up under every affliction. In persecution it will give us spiritual courage, and that grea ness of mind which nothing can conquer. This will enable us to endure the contradiction of sinners, and we shall not be ashamed to speak with our enemies in the gate. We shall H bear the cross of Christ with patience, and rejoice that we are accounted worthy to suffer reproach' for his sake. It was this love of God that enabled the martyrs and confessors of the Lord Jesus, chearfully to go to prison, and joyfully to suffer death, for his sake; and it will have the same blessed" effect upon our init.ds, if ever it shall please God to call us to suffer, as many have done who have gone before us. And who can tell what may be in the womb of providence at present, or what any of us may be called to suffer, before we leave this vale of tears? How well will it be then for us, to lay in a good stock of this heavenly treasure, while the Lord lengthens out our tranquillity, and before the storm comes down upon ús. The love of God will also support us under every affliction, and every distressing trial that we may meet with: For, as by the light of God we shall see his kind and gracious hand, in all the events of his providence, so the love of God will Sweeten every bitter cup to us, and we shall pass through the fire of temptation, and the flame shall not kindle upon us, and through deep waters of affliction, and the flood shall not overflow us. In the enjoyment of this love, we shall possess our souls with unbroken patience, and resignation to the will of our heavenly Father. But above all, this love will be found by every one who enjoys it, to be strong as death. It will enable us to encounter with, and to gain a complete victory over our last and most formidable enemy. A full and clear sense of our interest in Christ, an assurance of our adoption into the family of God, and consequently of our right and title to everlasting salvation, together with the love of God reigning in our heart, will enable us to say with the Apostle, "O death! where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory! The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory:" Through our own natural greatness of mind? O no; but "through our Lord Jesus Christ." This is the ground and foundation of the believer's confidence. It is this, and this alone which causeth him to triumph; and the more we consider the sacred Scriptures, the more clearly we shall see that this hath been the only foundation, which the faithful followers of God have built their hopes of heaven upon, in all ages. Hence we hear good old Jacob, in bis dying moments, crying out, "I have waited for thy salvation, O God" So likewise holy Job speaks the same language, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and though after my skin worms deftroy this body, yet in my fleth fhall I fee God, whom I fhall fee for myself, and mine eyes fhall behold, and not another.” So the pious Pfalmift alfo gives glory to God when upon the brink of eternity, "Although my house be not fo with God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and fure, and this is all my falvation and all my defire." And again: "Though I walk through the valley and fhadow of death, I will fe no evil, for God is with me." And how did the great Apostle Paul glory in this, when h faw himfelf ready to be offered up, and the time of his departure to be at hand? I have fought the good fight, I have finished my courfe, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteoufness, which the Lord the righteous judge fhall give me in that day." And how many of our dear friends, our companions, and relations, have in their dying moments witneffed the fame thing? Have teftified, with their latest breath, that the love of God in Christ Jefus was all in all to them? And we alfo fhal! find it to be fo, if we are poffeffed of the heaveny treasure, when we come to that folemn and important hou. It is added, "Jealoufy is cruel as the gave.'" This holy jealousy must be confidered as a fruit of the love of God, and its nature will be understood the best by narried people; it being that painful and tormenting paffon which takes place in the mind, when one of the partes fuppofes that fome other perfon is loved better, or equal to themselves Now this temper, which is here calledjealoufy, is in very deed cruel as the grave; it will bear with no rival, but would take vengeance upon any perfon who fiould come between us and the object of our affections: And as we now ftand in this relation to the bleed God, th church being confi dered as the bride of Chrift, as the prophet fpeaks in these aftonishing woras, "Thy Maker is thine husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name, the God of he whole earth fhall he be called." Hence our heavenly huoand is jealous of our affections; he hath said, 'My fon, ave me thine heart ;' and we are also commanded to love him with all our heart, and mind, and strength. In order that we may, we are called to exercife this holy jealoufy ove ourselves, and over every perfon or thing, which woul fteal our hearts away from God. With refpect to ourelves, we are taught to keep our heart with all diligence for out of it are the infues of life: And how needful this s, daily experience will teach us, as our heart is but too ap to wander from God, its proper |